Week 21 Fiesta sa bahay namin

Week 21

Dear Fam and Frenz,  

Hello errbody :) Hope everyone had an awesome week as usual. I wanted to start this email off with a big, fat shout out to my little brother CLAY ZARBOCK!!  Happy birthday kid!! I literally can't believe you are 17 already, so I am just gonna pretend you aren't. But seriously Clay, you are an awesome kid, one of the most unique people I know--I LOVE IT :)  Best memory of Clay, we were hiking up donut falls and both of us decided that we were gonna run through the waterfall together but we both slipped and fell on the way! GREAT BONDING MOMENT. But anyway I just wanted to say that I love you and I miss you like crazy and all of our cute snow cone and skiing dates and hiking around--I hope this week is a good one for you. 

So about my week! We had a good and super busy week and our house was a party all week.  Because we had zone training and the new missionary follow up meeting, a lot of sisters flew in from Palawan and Coron--so we got to have sleepovers all week, it was a ton of fun.  And our zone training and missionary follow up were super fun. I was sitting in the new missionary follow up with my new littler trainee (all of the trainers and trainees go to the missionary follow up to make sure you aren't dying) and I got so many weird flash backs of how I felt after 3 weeks in the field--like am I really gonna survive 18 months?!?!?--but look at me now. I made it, and I survived haha!  Plus we totally got donuts so that was the best. 

Visitor Sisters from Coron

More Sisters from Coron

Sleepover with the Sisters from Coron!

A little update on some of our peeps this week. We taught Angelie this week, she is doing awesome and really has such strong faith and is just cruising through the Book of Mormon right now. She should be having her baby soon. Her baptism is going to take a little bit longer unfortunately because she isn't married, so we are just working through to help her get that desire to change the way she is living in order to be baptized.  But what I have learned here? God's timing is real. Sometimes we just gotta be a little patient. Story. of. my. Life. Guys. 

Another update is Paulie--he should be getting baptized November 5!  EVERYONE PRAY FOR PAULIE! He is doing awesome. This week was the commandments lesson with him and honestly every time I teach commandments I just have to hold my breath a little bit, hoping that they are already living in accordance to them. God really does prepare people to receive the gospel. Paulie just talked to us about how he knows how important God is and how he depends on God and in order for him to return to him he needs to live as Christ would.  I sat back and I was just happy for someone, that all they want to do is devote their lifestyle to that of Christ.  Testimony builder for me for sure. 

Another tender mercy this week was Trisha Kate. I think I have talked about her before, she is 15 years old. And this week we taught her about the Book of Mormon.  I love the light that goes on in someones eyes when we talk about the Book of Mormon, it is seriously the best moment.  She is just 15 and since I started to visit her a couple of weeks ago--I can just see the difference in her. Its almost like a light has turned on.  Ahhh guys the gospel just makes people happy--with all the walking around, talking to so many people in a week, working sun up until sun down--just seeing one person light up when you teach them the gospel is SO WORTH IT. 

Just finish up with what I call a tender mercy Sunday. We showed up to church and we had Makati 4th--and we had 3 investigators come to church and 4 Less Actives--WHAT??? So we thought, okay maybe that is just luck. But then Makati 3rd ward came around, we had 3 Less Actives come and 2 investigators. And I was on cloud 9 :)  You know it was just a regular Sunday, we didn't do anything amazing in the week to get these people to church.....But kinda what I said before, God has his own timing and a scripture came to mind when we were walking home in D&C 88:63-63. "If you draw near unto me, I will draw near unto you".  It talks about how we need to continue in diligence. Obedience and diligence really do bring miracles, and that was a little miracle for me this week! 

Hope everyone has an awesome week :) 

Love, 

Sister Zarbock 

This is Makati!

Makati!!!

DInner at the church -- cute Sister Rose and 

Sister Ruby made this for us!

Guys don't worry--I found Rufus!!

Florals for days!!

Week 20 "HEYYYYYY HEYYYYYYY.....Come and get your looooooove" (Classic song from "Guardians of the Galaxy")

Week 20

Dear Every Bawwwdy, 

Hello everyone so good to hear from everyone like always :) This week was another good one--so I thought rainy season was over but now its TYPHOON SEASON. Kinda scary--season am I right? But here it just means lots of flooding and lots of new umbrellas because ours always break. The flooding really is so crazy...sometimes I am like where does all this water even come from? Haha. But life is good, we did get a lot of rain this week which is lots of fun! Sometimes hard to work in but for the most part its pretty awesome. You see all the little kids just having a good time in all the flood water and rain and I am like CAN I DO THAT PLEEAAASEEE? Hahaha...okay well anyway on to my week. 

We had a couple of awesome experiences this week with some of our investigators. First off Angelie is doing great. Her faith to follow Christ is really so awesome, its really cool to see these people that have faith in Christ but they really just don't know where to find the truth and then HERE WE COME.  But Angelie is really doing well, her faith is so much stronger every visit. I have started to read right where she is at in the Book of Mormon because she is super consistent with her reading.  Our lesson with her this week was all about the role of the Book of Mormon and her questions are right on. So everyone PRAY for Angelie! 

We had an amazing lesson with Glinda!  GUYS....Glinda is back in the game!!  When I was Sister Holzworth we found Glinda and she was interested but then kinda wasn't so we put her in the area book for a little while. AND then I decided that it was time to make the inspired return back. And she was totally interested again. We gave her a Book of Mormon, then we went back a few days later.  She had actually read the assignment and we talked to her more about what prayer was. And then she prayed at end the lesson and in it she said, "Paki-basbasan po ninyo ang mga anak ko na makuha nila ang mga pangarap" or that all of her kids will fulfill all their dreams. It was seriously the cutest thing!  When she finished, she was crying because she felt the spirit so strong. GOOOO GLINDA. :) It was kind of a touching moment, you don't really find people and their conversion on your time table, conversion is so individual. So lets hope she's ready now! 

So a couple of nights ago we were out proselyting and I have passed by this compound a million times, its just an area where a lot of people live in that is gated--and I felt like this huge need to go in there, it was so weird. So we went inside and we started talking to a bunch of people and after like 20 people we were about to leave but then this cute old lady said she thought there was some members inside. So we kept looking and sure enough WE FOUND ABBY :) Yes her name is Abby, yes she is a member. We were so pumped about it. Her mom is actually not a member--and so we will teach them later this week. But it was seriously so awesome to see that promptings are real! :) 

This is Abby--the Abby we found haha!

We just had a lot of great teaching opportunities this week with people in our area--hopefully people that will really 

progress. And then spontaneously we were asked to give the Relief Society lesson in Makati 4th on Sunday. To be honest this was a super spiritual experience. Our lesson was on being Committed to God from the Teachings of Howard W. Hunter. I love Howard W. Hunter! He has such a perfect way of describing things--at least for me. In our lesson we talked a lot about committing vs. contributing. And how being committed to God is a lot more than just following the commandments or fulfilling a calling--its all about putting your heart into it. I really went away from this lesson learning a lot more--I feel like teaching has its way of doing that.  You end up being the person learning the most. 

Well everyone I really am so grateful and humbled to be a missionary of such a great work.  Keep shooting prayers for me with training and with learning the language. Hope everyone has a great week! 

Much Love,

Sister Zeeee

Carrying my package from home on a jeepnee!

Thanks for the sweet new apron Jules!
Awesome package!!

Saw all my favorites at interviews this week :)

The moment before emailing!

Week 19 CONFERENCE WEEKEND IS THE BEST WEEKEND!

Week 19

Dear Fam and Friends, 

SOBRANG MASAYA BECAUSE IT WAS CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!!! WHOOP :) Its even better a week later, haha just kidding. But really conference weekend is the best weekend ever. A chance to sit back and let the prophet and apostles blow your investigators minds and sit in air conditioning for like 12 hours. I couldn't think of anything better.  I think as a missionary you are extra tuned into conference because I maybe wrote 50 pages of notes, and I didn't sleep through one talk.  SUCCESS--AM I RIGHT?  Okay but on a serious note I really loved watching conference, I think one I will never forget. I just had a moment while I was watching the Sunday morning session to look at all my new friends I have made in the Philippines thus far. Phoebe and Jason were sitting next to me, Paulie and my cute new companion on the other side. It just made me smile :)

SO MY NEW COMPANION!!!!! I am training Sister Guiuo (Geeeeeeeo) fresh out of the MTC. She is from an hour outside of Manila so sometimes we make the joke we are just gonna go eat dinner at her house and then come back haha. She is maybe the cutest human being I have ever seen. She is actually a VISA waiter and will serve her mission here until her VISA comes. Her mission is...wait for it, wait for it.....TEMPLE SQUARE. So come 6 months, all of you better be visiting her at Temple Square.  But seriously so excited to be training a new missionary, I get to relive all the first moments of being a missionary, it really is so great. I am so excited for our new companionship. 

My new companion--Sister Guiuo!

Picking up Sister Guiuo at the Mission Home--Pres. and Sister Ostler

This week was a good one and it kind of felt short because we had conference but I am so excited to tell you all about it! 

My first experience of the week is with Sister Angelie--I have talked about her before, she is pregnant and due next month. We visited her this week and she is just plowing through the Book of Mormon, it is so awesome to see her faith build and build every visit. So we were talking with her, she has always been so shy with baptism. Always nervous and scared of commitment. So we started to talk with her about the Book of Mormon. And she said she believes it's true. And I said well Angelie, if this book is true, then Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, and if that's true then Jesus Christ and God really did appear to Joseph, and if that's true then the gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth right now If that's true then I think you should just get baptized. And she said well maybe you are right :)  It honestly was such a little thing but it made me really think how awesome the message is of the Restoration--I felt like that came up a few times in conference and it  solidified for me my testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Go Angelie! 

So this is awesome. We got a text from one of the Elders for a referral they got for us, they said you know we don't know how interested he is but go give it a shot. So we went out to find Ike.  We couldn't find him anywhere. So we asked someone and from there asked someone else, they took us somewhere, then another person took us and I was just about to say, there is no hope finding this guy. But then all of a sudden this little old lady pokes her head out of her little tinahan and said she thought she knew where he was. So she takes us into this alley way, up the sketchiest ladder, and into the house of Ike.  And turns out the Lucena family lived at this house and they are all a bunch of less actives. So we talked to them and we talked to Brother Ike all about the message of our church. It just felt like this guy was super prepared to hear our message and the Lucena family said they really wanted to come back to church. :) Lesson learned? Don't give up, the Lord will send you to prepared people. 

So I wanna end with a through from conference. I am sure Elder Uchtdorf's 'Fourth Floor Last Door' was everyone's favorite in the Women's Session. And seriously I LOVED THIS TALK. It really rang true to me being on a mission. And just having faith by not giving up on yourself, with people..lahat. And I really loved the thought that sometimes trusting in your own vision isn't enough, you really need to put your trust in the Lord. It is kind of hard sometimes but SO worth it. 

Well I love you everyone and I hope you all have an awesome week, thanks for the emails and prayers--I need them more now then ever haha :) 

Mahal ko kayo!!!! :) 

Love, 

Sister Zeeeee 

Saying goodbye to Sister Dolor!

I ran into one of Jack's old companions again!

With Mildred--the less-active we found out of nowhere!

With Phoebe and Jason

Thanks for the taco stuff, Mom!  I made them this
week and my companion loved them!

Jules, this person found me on Instagram like in January
and messaged me all about Makati and everything.
Then she FOUND ME IN REAL LIFE! How sick is that??? 

A visit from Sister Savea--our Sister Trainer Leader

Week 18 TRIO AGAIN :) :) :)

Week 18

Hello All, 

How is everyone doing this week??? I hope everyone had an awesome week and a great conference weekend!  I get to see it this next weekend...but still every bit as excited! Its been a good week for us, transfers are this week..so that means I am graduating!!! I will officially be out of training :) I am so SO excited to see what happens with this next week, transfers are on Wednesday.  So I will let you know how that goes next week.  

Also another little surprise this week was we got another temporary sister for the week, her name is Sister Muir and she is from New Zealand.  We just laugh about our companionship. Sister Dolor is Filipino, I am blonde and white, and Sister Muir is as white as it gets and a red head. So we are a diverse group here. Haha...Its been a really fun week with her. We have had a lot of fun.  But anyway, a couple of high lights about the week!! 

Sister Zarbock, Sister Muir, Sister Dolor

Trike Selfie

With Sister Rose

So first off we had some awesome finds this week, we had a couple of long work days. But we found Mildred and Renaldo this week! :) They are a couple of less actives..and it really is so awesome when you can just sit and talk to people about how they feel about the church. Sometimes all people need to come back to church is just a little love. I have totally found that to be true over the last couple months. We got to sit and share with them about how important the church is and you get to see them light back up, because they know the church is true...sometimes they just need to remember what it feels like to have the gospel in their lives again. :) So they were some awesome lessons this week.  So grateful for those amazing moments as a missionary. 

GUYS. This was the best thing that happened this week haha. So Nanay Vergie. She is probably the most offended person I have ever seen and she is not afraid to tell you about it haha. :) And I have been visiting her since I came out to the field. And today we walked by her bahay like we normally do and she started telling us how offended she was. And I just said Nanay Vergie, do you know what you need? She kinda was taken a little aback, and asked okay what. And I said all she needs is Jesus and a group hug. So thats what we did..our little trio gave Nanay Vergie the biggest hug in the middle of the street and we got her to laugh about it. Seriously, the best thing of my week haha :) Again all people need is a little love. 

ANGELIE CAME TO CHURCH AND SHE IS HAVING A GIRL! Angelie is pregnant and due next month and we finally found out this week. I guessed a girl the whole time. We were so pumped about it :) She is literally the cutest Mom and its been so fun to teach her. She is so great, and every time we see her we just see the light the gospel is giving her...I think that is my favorite thing to see the light of Christ work its way into these people lives, plus she came to church this week! WHOOOOP :) 

Angelie's little twins--and a random dog on the street  :)

We got fed by the Harts family this week :) They are so great! 

Okay one of the best things of my week was Paulie's lesson. He is the Armenian we have been teaching. He is seriously the best guy ever, we had an awesome lesson with him on Sunday about the Book of Mormon. I started to ask him about his beliefs--he knows the bible like the back of his hand so its a little intimidating for sure. But he started getting really emotional and he said he has been looking for something like this his whole life. And he has been through a lot, but he said something that literally melted my heart. He said that he knows that the world is sometimes really hard to live in but, "through God's word he feels like the richest man in the world." And he held that Book of Mormon like it was everything he had. Such an awesome guy who strengthened my testimony about the Book of Mormon. 

Well just to end on a Spiritual Thought, I was reading a couple of nights ago in D&C 64:33 and it says that we shouldn't "be weary in well doing." And I have felt this so many times on the mission so far. Even though you have long days and are tired. all. the. time. God always helps us if we are on His errand. 

Have a good week everyone!!  

Love, 

Sister Zarbock 

Cookies at the mission home!

Biggest coincidence....I sat next to this ladies daughter-in-law
in my Philosophy class at UVU...She is awesome! 

Cheesecake with Bing

Jules = Best Mom Award!!  Thanks for the fun Halloween package!!! 

All the Halloween decor is up--strange holiday to Filipinos haha!

Week 17 "Strange things my imagination might do, take a look reflect on what we have been through..."

Week 17

When a song only Jack Zarbock will know is going through your head haha :) 

Dear Family and Friends, 

KUMUSTA PO :) How is everyone doing?? I hope that you all had an awesome week! This week was a busy one let me tell you and then all of the sudden it was Monday again haha. We are officially out of the rainy season I am pretty sure because it is SO hot here. But I can't complain, life is good here. Sister Dolor and I have our final week together this week--maybe, we don't know with Transfers coming up the first week in October. I have just loved our time together so I hope we stay for a little bit longer :) but anyway, on to this week. We had a lot of really good lessons with our investigators which makes me so excited, can't wait to tell you all about it :)  Wanted to mention that we had six investigators at church yesterday by the way!!

So Jason..... He got baptized the beginning of the month and we have been preparing him to receive the priesthood and a calling, and I just love our visits with him and his wife Phoebe--they have been my little home away from home honestly. And talk about someone who is just SO ready to have the gospel in their life. It really is just so great to see someone progress in the gospel, get baptized and see how the gospel little by little changes their life for the better. And that's what is happening with Jason :) We sometimes like to joke that I am their lost child from America because we like all of the same foods haha, I literally love them SO much. 

Sister Gayo. This was a way cool experience this week. Sometimes Sister Dolor and I get a little down on ourselves, sometimes we ask ourselves if we are visiting the right people, are we teaching the right things and so on. So this week we decided to visit a less active named Sister Gayo...our luck with Less Actives is kind of a hit and miss. So we go to her house and she opens the door SO surprised. And she said you need to come back again! Please text me, and then shuts the door. Well okay, that was kind of strange. So we reschedule with her for the next day. We come back and she lets us in, made lunch for us, and had her Book of Mormon and paper for notes at the ready. So we started to chat with her. And she asked us "How did you know to come here?" And we kind of just shrugged and laughed, we had no idea why we were there...I wish we would have had some cool revelation. But she started to talk to us about how she felt the need to come back to church and the night we came over, she was really thinking about it and she wanted a sign or something. Then about 5 minutes later we knocked on the door :) It was just kind of a little sign to me actually that, you know most of the time I have no idea what I am doing out here--but right then I was a little answer to a prayer for Sister Gayo :) I am happy with that. 

Sister Dolor and I have been praying for teaching opportunities extra hard this week. And so on Wednesday, our back up back up plans had fallen through--well dang it. And on our way back from an appointment I saw a lady, and I felt like I had seen her before because we always walk the same way to that area. So we went and started to chat with her. We asked her if she had family and she said she had 4 kids and that she was married. GREEN LIGHT. So of course we had to try to get in the door. Big family and she's married, I wish you could have seen mine and Sister Dolor's face, it was priceless. But anyway, we went in and taught her. And that same day we met another Sister...and I am sure we had passed these houses a million times. Lesson learned? Prayers are totally answered :) So Sister Marilene and Serenaya were just a little tender mercy. Super grateful for that. 

And a final experience was with Paulie, the Armenian. I have talked about him before, he has been coming to church and he just loves the church. We honestly don't even know where he came from or how he heard about the church. And I thought, if he comes to church this week--we are going to teach him. And he did! So we got with him after church and started to talk with him. He's had some pretty rough patches in his life and he started to tell us that he thought that "every religion had the bible all wrong." and so I asked him how he feels now. And he said, he finally feels like what he learns here is what he has been looking for. :) And the smile on my face...I just couldn't be happier for someone who has been through SO much, finally feels like this is the truth. So I asked, you think you would want to get baptized? And he said, yeah isn't that why I am here? Haha, I don't know. It was just awesome to see someone not pushed or forced or constantly having to make sure that he has the desire--he just knows for himself :) 

So those were just some of the highlights this week. :) Honestly I can't begin to explain how many little things happen in a week, or how many little things that help build my faith...it honestly doesn't feel like I am teaching these people. It really feels like they are teaching me :) I have become so humbled by teaching, learning Tagalog--everything in between. I read D&C 19:23 this morning and it says, "learn and listen to my words, and you will have peace." That is what is happening everyday.  Whether its a hard day, good work day, lots of rejection, or whatever. I feel like God knows and is aware of all of us :) 

Okay, Hope you all have a great week this week! 

Mahal ko kayo! 

Sister Zarbock 

With Sister Pharis

The most awkward picture they made us take for the 

stake activity--so we made fun of it a little bit :)

Oh my, no words can describe how cute this 

chubster is. Meet Mario.

MOVIE DAAAAAYYYYYYY, Pday = Pancake Day

Sister Watson from Alaska :) from my zone.

Week 16 Tender Mercy Week

Week 16 

Dear Friends and Especially my beautiful Fam, 

Hello everyone! :) How are we all doing this week? I hope everyone had a good one, like always its beautiful here--very hot day in Makati. A wonderful day to wish a Happy Birthday week to my best friend Brock :) I hope you have a GREAT day! 

Well...This week was a pretty good one, some long days and some really awesome days too. We are getting out of the rainy season--so that means it is hot all day everyday. Can't decide what I like better, buckets of rain or piercing hot sun :) But anyway, I can't wait to tell you all about the week--it started out with teaching Sister Amalia about temples. She is a referral from her daughter Anna from the ward, and we have actually been teaching her ever since I came to the area. She is super religious, believes in God--so our lessons to her are just a nice message about Christ. But recently her husband passed away, which was super sad for her--we went to his funeral. But this week we felt like we needed to visit with her about temples and how we can be with our families FOR ETERNITY. As we started to teach her you could see her start to really listen to our message. Her daughter also testified that temples really are the way that we can see our loved ones again. :) And honestly it was just a way cool lesson for Sister Amalia AND she came to church on Sunday! :) So that was a way awesome way to start out the week. 

Another cool lesson was with Brother King--and this was a "sit back and listen to how awesome your companion is at teaching" moment. Brother King is super interested in the Book of Mormon. My companion Sister Dolor has been through a lot in her life--a lot of different trials.  As I listened to her testify about how she knows the Book of Mormon is true was honestly one of the highlights of my week.  It just made me realize, you know in life there is a lot that we as individuals have to go through, and I have learned that more from listening to Sister Dolor. Sometimes we need to take a step out of ourselves and be humble--I think I learn a lot more that way :) I also really love how Brother King has this desire to REALLY know if the Book of Mormon is true.

We had a really awesome lesson with an investigator named Gladyss, she is a member referral. I love member referrals--help the missionaries out and give them some haha :) Anyway, we watched the First Vision video with her, I think it really helps to visualize it. But after we asked her what she thought, and she was like--"He really did that?" and it was kind of just this "aha" moment for me that, wow Joseph Smith really did restore the church on the earth. Sometimes I forget how amazing that is, that Joseph Smith--bata pa siya--received an answer to a prayer and became a prophet :) 

We had a few hard days this week, just full of rejection after rejection. And it was honestly a hard couple of days for me. Our backup, backup plan even cancelled on us....I had never experienced absolutely everyone saying no before. I know there are people that have it much harder in that aspect of a mission. I just was feeling a little discouraged, but as I was walking home on Saturday I kind of had this thought of 1 Nephi 16:29 going over and over in my head, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." And I was thinking about that scripture, and how I had completely failed to realize the little tender mercies or the small things that that happened that day. And I feel like so often in our busy lives we don't really take the time to enjoy the little things that happen :)

Tender mercies are SO real :) and we need to take a minute to remember the small things the Lord does for us araw-araw. 

Have an awesome week :) 

Love, 

Sister Zarbock

Yes, I do wash my clothes in a bucket--but look, it's a fancy bucket!!

Recent convert--Meridian

Bunches of cute Filipino kiddos :)

Family History with the one and only...Jerry!!

Little crazy fruit that is SO good!

Zone meetings with my STLs--Sister Training Leaders.  

Our follow ups on the phone are always like

 30 minutes haha cause we just laugh